Shipping-crate



(No Model.)

J. H. JEWBTTf SHIPPING CRATE.

No. 572,998. Patented Dec. 15, 1-896.

. w igzsses l NITED STATES PATENT Prion.

JOHN H. JEVETT, OF MENOMINEE, MICHIGAN.

vSHIPPING-CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 572,998, dated December15, 1896. Application filed $eptember 25, 1895' Serial No. 563,625. (Nomodel.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H. J EWETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Menominee, in the county of Menominee and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful Shipping-Crate, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to shipping-crates for the transportation ofvegetables, small nursery stock, or merchandise, and particularly tocrates to be used by farmers and truckgardeners, my object being toprovide a rigid crate of such construction and dimensions that foursimilar crates may be nested together to form a compact handy packagefor convenient return from market, firmly braced and held in place bythe mere assemblage of the said four crates.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in thevarious details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafterfully specified and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of one of my crates.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof, and Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of four crates assembled in nested relation for return shipment.

Reference being made to parts by numerals, l designates the end slats,which are rigidly secured by wire, nails, screws, or other means tocorner-posts 2, the ends of said slats 1 being flush with the outersides of said posts 2 and the outer sides of the uppermost and lowermostslats being flush with the respec tive ends of said posts. The sides ofthe crate are made of similar slats 3, alined with the end slats andsecured to the outer sides of posts 2, so as to overlap the end slats 1and terminate flush with the outer face thereof. One or more of theupper side slats 3 on one or on both sides are bowed or warped inwardlyslightly, as at 4, thereby to retain their nested arrangement withcertainty, as more particularly explained later on. Bottom slats 5 areprovided lengthwise of the crate and secured to the lower ends of posts2 and to strengthening-cleats 6, which are fastened to either end of thecrate. These bottom slats 5 are provided with beveled ends '7 to enablethe crates to be more readily nested. The

particular form and arrangement of parts above set forth are notessential, but may be greatly varied. For instance, a greater or lessnumber of slats may be used and they may be set transversely orotherwise, and the posts may be dispensed with or modified.

The dimensions of my improved crates are such that the outside height ofthe crate is equal to the inside width thereof from side to side next tothe corner-posts, and the inside length from post to postis equal totwice the outside width. The. result of these proportions is that twocrates 8 and 9 may be placed on end side by side within a third cratel0, exactly filling the same from side to side and from end to end, anda fourth crate 12 may be then placed in reversed position over crates 8and 9, thereby completing a neat compact bunch of crates which rigidlybrace each other. The beveled ends of the bottoms of crates 8 and 9materially aid in forming this package, making the nesting easier bywedging away the sides of crates 10 and 12. The nested crates aresecurely held together by means of the gripping action of the bowedsides 4 of crates 10 and 12, so that no nails, hooks, or binding-cordsare required to retain the crates together for handling.

The loose shipment of individual crates is very destructive thereof,because heavy packages are carelessly thrown against them, whereby theyare split and broken or racked out of shape. By my arrangement all thisis obviated, inasmuch as rigid bracing effects are produced at everyweak point, particularly midway of the length of the crates, at whichpoint the inner sides of crates 8 and 9 form a sort of plate-girder tosustain the sides and bottoms of crates, 10 and 12.

What I claim is 1. A shipping-crate consisting of suitable ends, sidesand bottom composed of slats and joined together to form a rectangularcrate, one of the slats of the sides being bowed inward for the purposeof binding against a similar crate placedwithin the primary crate,whereby the nested crates are prevented from separating, substantiallyas described.

2. A nest of four equal and similar crates having their sides, ends andbottoms composed of slats, two of said crates being placed side 7 byside with their ends resting in a third crate,

and a fourth crate placed in inverted position over the projecting endsof the first two crates, one or more of the slats of each cratebeingbowed inward, whereby the outer crates are adapted to frictionallyengage the inner 5 crates, substantially as described.

3. A shipping-crate having suitable sides, ends and bottom composed ofslats, one of the slats being made of greater length than the others buthaving its ends in planes 00- IO incident with the ends of the otherslats, I

whereby an inward fiexure is imparted to the long slat, substantial asand ro'r the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in 15 the presence of two witnesses.

i JOHN H. J EXVETT.

\Vitnesses:

I-IALsEY B. MoULToN, FRANKLIN I-I. BROWN.

